


Recision

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Character Bashing, F/M, Ron Weasley Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22132189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Daphne Greengrass and Hadrian Potter come into their own.
Relationships: Daphne Greengrass/Harry Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Daphne**

Daphne Greengrass sat alone in her ancestral manor. Ever since her parents had been executed in the war, she had lived there raised only by curious elf-like creatures bred for domestic work called house elves. For almost seven years Daphne had lived in the house, unable to leave for some reason which the facility elves could not explain. The elves where unwilling to explain why this was and why they refused to follow her orders on this matter while they would on every other. Not that Daphne was complaining much; she enjoyed the huge castle which she had free run over - except for the rooms which she was refused entry to on the grounds that she had not had her magical maturity yet. She loved spending hours upon end in the library or talking to the portraits of her ancestors who were remarkably tight-lipped when it came to the family history and practicing magic. 

Daphne had discovered her ability to do magic without a wand – a theoretically impossible task according to the portraits in the house – during her first and only escape attempt. It had been summer two years ago and Daphne wanted to see what life was like outside the house. Daphne was permitted to go outside into the grounds but no further than the hedge-coated walls, but whenever she did this the house elves would follow her and keep a close watch on her. Daphne had been wondering what it might be like to see beyond the tall hedges of the grounds and before she knew it, she appeared on the outside of Greengrass Castle. The five year-old Daphne had been found by the house elves sitting on the grass in front of the moat, staring at the huge castle – incidentally, her castle – and its formidable defences. Walls sat several meters tall with little openings from which cannons looked out ready to fire upon intruders. She could see some sort of sea serpent in the moat with its many fangs, looking hungry – the fact that she was a Greengrass was probably the only thing stopping it from dragging her into the moat and having her for dinner. 

Once back, safely, in the castle her Grandfather had decided it was time for Daphne to be told somewhat of the outside world, if only to sate her curiosity and prevent her from getting a little too curious and thus injured. It turned out the Greengrass family were wildly disliked by almost everyone else in the magical world for their huge wealth, political power and military might – although there was little political power left now. Her grandfather’s portrait had told her how her parents had been killed by a man called Tom Riddle after they had refused to join his forces during a civil war in magical Britain he had started, or that was the official reason. In reality Tom Riddle had killed them because the Greengrass family had discovered that Tom Riddle was in league with Albus Dumbledore, the so-called leader of the ‘light’ faction of magical Britain, to take over the wizarding world. Her parents had been killed in broad daylight as they were out shopping in Diagon Alley. Tom Riddle had blown up a good chunk of the street. Daphne had been saved by Charlus Potter an old family friend who had extracted Daphne from the wreckage and healed her, before handing her over to the Greengrass family house elves. Unfortunately her sister had been kidnapped by Dumbledore and hidden away somewhere unknown. It was a crime against House Greengrass Daphne, even at the tender age of seven, wanted to see justice for.

He had been killed by Lord Voldemort shortly after that in a duel which had caused severe destruction to what remained of Diagon Alley after Tom Riddle’s duel with her parents. The Potter’s had been longstanding allies of the House of Greengrass with a similar level of power and influence. Remarkably, their son Hadrian had been born on the same day as Daphne. After Charlus’ death, James Potter had tried to assume lordship of the Potter family, only to be the first Potter in known history to be unable to assume the lordship. James Potter had been pretty angry which had done nothing to improve his already explosive temperament as the Potter assets had sealed themselves up, preventing him from accessing them. Apparently there was some sort of test involved in the process of assuming the lordship of the Potter family and James Potter had failed. Her grandfather had said James Potter had also been an arrogant toe rag and a Dumbledore fanatic who wouldn’t be missed. Following his inability to access the Potter finances, Dumbledore had decided to give up on accessing them through James Potter and Tom Riddle had come to the place James and Lily Potter had chosen to hide after a prophecy involving their son had been ‘accidentally leaked’ and killed them. Somehow, though, one of their sons had been able to defeat Tom Riddle where all wizards previously had failed. In the aftermath, Dumbledore had placed Hadrian Potter in an unknown household in an unknown location, which her grandfather – through a series of investigations he had had the house elves undertake – believed to be with the “worst kind of muggles” (this was how he had described them to Daphne) who were the family of Lily Potter’s sister. The other potter sibling, John, had also been abducted by Dumbledore. 

Dumbledore was presumably planning to create a relationship with the young Potter heir similar to the one he had enjoyed with James Potter, only with greater devotion. After subjecting him to several years of abuse at the hands of the Dursley’s Daphne suspected that Dumbledore would sweep in, “save” Harry and then use him to get at the Potter finances. Sitting in the library, Daphne delved further into the fabled, supposedly impossible, ‘wandless’ magic she could perform. Daphne reached out and her magic instinctively moved to lift a book from the shelf, which moved across the room into her outstretched hand relaxing into her favourite chair. The Greengrass library was truly an extraordinary thing. Several stories high, the Greengrass family had negotiated legal deposit with the ministry back when the Greengrass-Potter alliance had had power sufficient to control most of the magical world. Despite the many attempts of almost all political groups to remove the privilege from their family it had proved impossible to do so. Daphne sighed and began to read the book about the intricacies of the mind arts.

 **Hadrian**  
Needless to say, Harry Potter was not having quite as good a time as Daphne Greengrass. He was currently trying not to let the power inside him explode as his crazed Uncle attempted to liberate his head from the horribly confining position that being attached to his neck was with the aid of a hunting knife. Vernon Dursley tried to stab Hadrian Potter, only for Hadrian Potter to dodge out of the way, leaving Vernon Dursley trying to remove the knife which was now deeply embedded in the wall. 

“You’re a good for nothing freak. Just stand still and die – do us all a favour.” Vernon snarled with the effort of trying to catch the freak. 

Hadrian sneered back. He had always been a proud boy and refused to yield to the Dursleys, irregardless of consequence which was not always positive for his health. Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching out to the power which had caused his problems with the Dursley’s. Vernon Dursley stared on in horror as he saw a lightning bolt arc from Hadrian Potter’s body and burn him to a shrivelled crisp on the carpet. The next thing Hadrian knew, he was in unimaginable pain. He looked down at his shoulder and saw blood soaking his hand-me-down rags from Dudley. Looking around he saw Petunia holding a gun. Grinning he reached out with his power and Petunia stared in shock as the wound around his shoulder closed over and the blood disappeared. Another bolt of lightning struck Petunia Dursley who joined the ashes of her husband. Dudley Dursley tried to throw a knife he had picked off of the dining table at Hadrian only for it to change direction mid-flight and impale the youngest Dursley. 

Looking dispassionately upon his hated relatives, Hadrian realised it wouldn’t end well for him to be found over the dead bodies of his relatives – particularly given the tales that the neighbours had been told about him. Hadrian quickly packed the few possessions he owned – a few old clothes which had belonged to Dudley – and ran out the front door. 

— 

In the office of a certain Albus Dumbledore a series of silver instruments exploded violently as the wards around Privet Drive collapsed, leaving him slightly confused. Noticing that all the instruments were the ones responsible for monitoring the Potter scion, Dumbledore stood up out of his chair and disappeared into a ball of flames carried by a phoenix. 

When Albus Dumbledore appeared on the site of 4 Privet Drive and found a series of muggle police officers congregated there. The street, which had been closed off, was a huge site of activity as uniformed people ran about attempting to tick the boxes they needed to before they could get on with their lives. Dumbledore walked through the doorway of 4 Privet Drive, only to be met by several policemen. 

“This area is closed to civilians, how did you get in?” He was rudely confronted. 

“I’m from a special government department and have been dispatched to assist you in your investigation.” A swish of his wand (incidentally stolen from the Potter family, but he didn’t let that concern him) convinced the officers of this statement. “What have you found?”

“Not that much sir. We’ve worked out that the ash belongs to the bodies of two people – Vernon and Petunia Dursley. The dead body in that body bag (he gestured to the lifeless form of Dudley Dursley in what Dumbledore took to be a bin sack) is Dudley Dursley, their son. He was stabbed, but we’re still not sure how Vernon and Petunia Dursley died.”

“Thank you, you have been most helpful.” Dumbledore could feel the magic around the house. He was convicted there were no magical remaining in the house, but the ambient magic was so strong he could feel its suffocating effects. He was pretty sure that a lighting bolt had been conjured which worried him as it was a complicated form of magic even he could not master and was a signature Potter spell and the only Potter in this household had had his magic tightly bound by Dumbledore until he was little better than a squib. . How he cursed James Potter for his inability to gain access to the Potter assets and get him access to the legendary library, rivalled only by that of their long-term allies the blasted Greengrasses. He could feel the situation falling out of his control now that the youngest Potter, through whom he had hoped to gain control of the Potter assets once and for all, had disappeared. Albus had planned to ‘save’ the boy from the abusive childhood he had subjected him to, thus instilling him with a healthy amount of respect for Albus Dumbledore before Dumbledore used him to further his political aims. Dumbledore cursed – who had found the child behind such powerful wards which he was sure were fuelled by almost the entirety of Hadrian Potter’s core – having once seen the child as a baby Albus Dumbledore was scared that the level of power Hadrian Potter wielded might spell havoc for his plans so he tried to destroy Hadrian’s magical core by binding it to the wards and draining it repeatedly. This was much like picking a scar repeatedly until a scar was left, except in this case the scar would be more like a bomb crater. 

Dumbledore sighed. He would have to dispatch his more loyal agents – primarily a few of Tom’s death eaters who he had helped escape imprisonment following Tom’s disappearance at the hands of the Potter boy – to find the boy and instead of trying the easy way he would have to use a series of loyalty potions to ensure the obedience of the Potter child.   
—   
**Still Hadrian**  
Hadrian Potter was not having a good time. He was currently being chased by a lunatic lady who really needed a shower. He had first noticed when she had gotten onto the train he was sitting on. After fleeing the Dursley’s he had jumped upon the first train he could find, which happened to be going to Scotland. After she had climbed onto the train, she had looked at Hadrian and walked up to him with an ear-splitting smile on her face. Demanding he come with her, when he had initially refused she had drawn a wooden stick which Hadrian had laughed at. He wasn’t laughing when a bolt of green light snaked towards him. Using his power he gripped the bolt and flung it back at its sender, who was so shocked that she almost forgot to move out of its path. The woman had muttered something about Dumbledore and “impossible magic” before firing several more bolts of varying shades at Hadrian. 

Deflecting the first bolt had left Hadrian out of breath and he had began to sweat. Reluctantly, he realised that he might have met his match here and began to run through the carriage past inhabitants looking at him and the woman in fear. 

“Little Hadrian, why don’t you come out to play?” Bellatrix Lestrange sang, eager to provide some of the discipline Dumbledore had asked her to provide the boy. She chased him to the end of the train, and found him backed against the door to the rear locomotive. She fired another spell at him – this time a castration curse (Dumbledore had asked for Hadrian alive, not well after all) and grinned as she saw him left unable to doge it by the confines of the corridor. As the spell was about to hit him, the door he was leaning against disappeared, leaving him to stumble backwards though the opening. After he had fell through the door solidified again, Bellatrix’s spell leaving several gashes in the door. 

Harry looked around him. He was currently sitting in a drivers cabin and could see the scenery disappearing behind him as the train moved forwards. The door behind him was rattling at the sound of a crazy woman trying to break it down. Hadrian looked around him, seeing no way out. 

**Daphne**  
—   
Daphne was reading her book in the library when an overexcited family elf came in unannounced, frightening her out of her wits. Daphne glared at the elf as it lead her into the main study – her study, though she was banned from using it until her first magical maturity which was bound to happen any day now – where her grandfather’s portrait hung. 

“You called for me grandfather” Daphne asked.

“Yes.” The portrait responded. “It seems the house of Potter is once again active. Just this morning we received an owl from their estate telling us that they have felt Lord Potter’s magic reemerge after Dumbledore hid him away. Presumably he has either escaped Dumbledore or Dumbledore has decided to try and use him in some way. I have raised some of the Greengrass military units to try and track him down and bring him safely to us. The Potter estate contacted me for assistance because they are unable to draw upon their military units without their Lord’s consent.”

Daphne looked at her grandfather in excitement. “Will he come here after we find him?” Given that she had never spoken to another person in her lifetime, the prospect of meeting someone who wasn’t a portrait or enclosed within the pages of a book excited her. 

“Most likely, unless Dumbledore finds him first.”

 **Hadrian**  
—   
Hadrian turned away from the door which was shaking violently under continued assault from the unhinged Bellatrix who was trying to break it down. He was in the unoccupied rear locomotive surrounded by switches and LED bulbs, interspersed with the occasional computer screen, all of which bore no sense for the seven year-old Hadrian. Hadrian heard the door give way and looked behind him in alarm as the heavy, terrorist-proof door hurled itself towards him at impossible speeds. 

Just as Hadrian was about to made into a pancake, squashed against the control panel of the train, a bolt of lightning rose of his body and vaporised the door. A shocked Bellatrix had barely enough time to react as a now somewhat irate Hadrian took his power and used it to fire another lightning bolt at Bellatrix, a feeling of exhilaration overcoming him as he watched the bolt snaking towards Bellatrix who disappeared with a loud crack just before the bolt hit her. The bolt smashed into train and a sizzling sound could be heard as the train’s internal circuitry was fried, plunging it into darkness. The train began to ground to a halt as power to the wheels was cut. Hadrian realised that he needed to disappear before someone found and questioned what he was doing in the driver’s compartment and “I was chased by a woman with a stick which she used to do magical acts with including blasting down a 2 inch thick steel door” probably wouldn’t cut it. Nor would the fact that he had noticed an arrest warrant for him in the train station, probably to do with the ‘unfortunate’ disappearance of the Dursley’s. 

Once the train had ground to a halt, Hadrian used his magic to force a door open before jumping out. The driver could be heard telling the customers on the train that there was nothing to worry about and they would be underway soon. No one noticed Hadrian slipping off into the distant hills, unknowingly heading to Potter Castle. 

—

Hadrian had been walking for days now and had encountered not a single sign of life. His stomach protested and complained as he moved onwards, across the hilly terrain. He could not quite explain why he was so determined to head over these hills or why he felt like he knew where he was going. His mouth had dried up completely, his baggy hand-me downs were ripped and torn as a result of his encounters with a few dense forests and large blisters had formed on his feet. Hadrian had already collapsed a few times, but had persisted regardless. Now, as it seemed that he would be unable to continue, a castle appeared at the top of a hill as soon as he reached the summit. Huge walls left only the four towers and keep visible inside the castle. Intimidating cannons looked out over the surrounding terrain. In his exhaustion, Hadrian had to stop himself from falling into the moat, filled with a most unpleasant looking mass of black water which sizzled and hissed. 

As Hadrian was about to continue onwards, not wishing to upset whoever the owner of the castle was (unaware that it was him), he realised that the castle drawbridge had lowered itself. A small horde of small, green creatures with floppy ears wearing robes of white cloth bustled out of the main gate in excitement. 

“Master Hadrian, you have returned. We be’s so happy!”

Hadrian looked on blankly at the grinning mass of creatures.

“How do you know my name? Who are you? What is this place?”

The house elves looked shocked.

“Master Hadrian, you are the Lord of House Potter. As the Potter house elves we know the names of all family members. This is Potter Castle and it has been the home of the Potter family since before I was alive.” The most senior-looking elf responded. 

“May I enter?” Hadrian enquired. “I need somewhere to hide from the police while they chase me for the murder of several people.”

The elves looked scandalised. “Master Hadrian, this castle belongs to you. The fact that you have found it means that you must have passed the test required for the Potter lordship. Of course you may enter.”

Hadrian looked on in shock. “I really need to get some sleep.” He muttered, a huge headache settling on as a result of severe fluid deprivation. After that, he feinted in exhaustion. He was gently levitated inside the castle and the drawbridge rose behind the group. Hadrian Potter was gently placed upon the master bed and snored gently.

 **Dumbledore’s office**  
—   
Albus Dumbledore, Supreme Mugwump of ICW and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot was unhappy. Far from the guise of infinite patience he tried to project, the elderly wizard was a hotheaded man with a severe temper, though not quite that of his friend Grindelwald. A fearful Bellatrix Lestrange sat at his desk, reminding both of them of her schooldays where Albus had many times made excuses for her behaviour, desperately trying to keep her in the school amidst her rising lust for violence. 

A mad twinkling manifested itself in Albus’ eyes as he questions her.

“So you tell me that a seven year-old boy, incidentally who was had his magic almost completely bound, managed to deflect an Avada Kedavra curse – an impossible feat of magic – before destroying a door with a lightning bolt – a signature piece of Potter magic that he shouldn’t be able to do given that the Potter family secrets are locked away since that damned Charlus hid them in some way that even after several years I’ve been unable to find them.” Albus rants angrily, ignoring the young Bellatrix who is cowering fear as a result of the thick magic Albus lets permeate through the room. 

“I tried my best headmaster, but the power the young Potter had – its immeasurable. It’s a little bit like Flamel’s magic but less aggressive and hostile. It somehow almost made me think twice about killing him.” 

Dumbledore winced at the mention of his master, who was presumably going to be relatively upset at the proclamation that he had been able to end the line of the Flamel’s historic opponents. 

“You will leave to find the Potter base and inform me when you find it. I’ll dispatch young Bartimeus to help you – his track record seems to be much stronger than yours after all, he did bring me the Greengrass girl who is progressing well. Admittedly he did bring me the wrong one, but at least I actually have something to work with unlike in your case. How, may I ask, did you fail to notice the young Potter killing his relatives?” 

“Headmaster, I’ve told you. I thought there was a disturbance around the outer ward stones and when I reached the first stone the wards suddenly fell.”

Albus started muttering. “No, surely not. Then again, the Potters do have a reputation as skilful ward breakers. But how would he with out training.”

Bellatrix looks confused. Albus realises this and pulls himself together.

“I want you to leave now. Legend has it that the Potter’s base is somewhere in Scotland. That would certainly fit with the fact that you managed to tail him onto a train heading to Scotland.”

Bellatrix nodded and exited the office. Albus sighed into his hand. Nicholas was not going to be pleased with him. 

**Daphne**  
—   
After her conversation with her grandfather Daphne had gone upstairs to the master suite. A relaxing bath later and she was happily tucked under the covers of her bed enjoying the comfortable sheets which kept her beautifully warm. As Daphne fell asleep she drifted into a dream.

Daphne’s dream opened onto a scene of herself lying in her bed, a man lying next top of her enjoying each others embrace. What surprised her was that far from her usual reaction to men, that they were manipulative and scheming (somewhat valid concerns, given her history) and like those she had read about in the books stored in the Greengrass library. Daphne felt a feeling of comfort and security lying next to him. Daphne realised that in her dream she was significantly older, most likely about twenty-five to thirty. The man had the most brilliant green eyes which seemed to draw her in as she lay next to him snuggling comfortably.

Looking around, Daphne realised that they were in the master suite of Greengrass manor. She noticed some additional personal effects, most probably from the unknown man she was sleeping with. She gasped in shock when she saw a ring around her finger. Daphne had sworn from a young age that she would never marry, wishing to be her own woman, and regain the prestige that the Greengrasses had lost over the years at the hands of pureblood wizarding Britain. For her to be happily lying here with another man must have meant that something would have happened to weaken her resolve, or she must have truly regarded this man to be worthy of her attention she thought as she drifted slowly off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Daphne**  
—  
Daphne woke up, her mysterious dream deep in the forefront of her mind. She pulled off the bedcovers, hastily got dressed and rushed through her study, which served as a sort of antechamber into private quarters, into the private dining room. A table which could comfortably accommodate twenty lay decked with an array of delicious foods. The kitchens in Greengrass manor had been designed at a time in which the Greengrass family was renowned for hosting large parties and hosting large numbers of guests in the huge castle, producing food in militant fashion before serving it to guests. Since its initial conception the prestige of the Greengrass family had declined somewhat and the main dining room had not been completely filled with the 300 people it could hold for at least 100 years. 

After she had tucked into a delicious meal, Daphne retired to the library where she finished her book on the mind arts. In her comfortable armchair, Daphne attempted one of the meditation exercises suggested in the book which would allow oneself to discover the manifestation of one’s mind. Daphne ignored the fact that the book suggested that this was an incredibly difficult feat of magic to perform and was difficult for most to accomplish. Daphne drifted into a state of subconsciousness. 

When she awoke, Daphne was confronted with the sight of Greengrass Castle as she gazed upon its walls. For some reason, another castle sat beside it and a bridge connected the two towering structures. Realising that Greengrass Castle most likely represented her mental defences, she ordered the drawbridge to lower itself before she walked into her castle. Ordering the drawbridge up behind her, Daphne realised that the defences in her minds version of Greengrass castle were much stronger than those in the actual building. She knew that the defences of Greengrass Castle had reduced over years of complacency and insufficient maintenance. While much of the more dangerous weaponry had been removed from the real building, in this castle a huge number of much larger cannons lined the walls. Personal effects she was sure were not hers lay in places in the castle.

In some places, there were huge catapults loaded with rocks, threatening grievous bodily harm to any who might dare enter. The dungeons here had not been repurposed, and where the real Greengrass castle contained only a few holding cells this version of Greengrass castle boasted a full suite of holding cells and torture racks. Climbing up the stairs, Daphne soon reached the antechamber to her quarters her study served as. The statues within her mind’s castle moved around, patrolling for intruders, a charm which had long since faded on the statues in the real Greengrass castle. After she opened the door to her study, Daphne was concerned to find that there was a large opening onto the bridge that connected her castle to the neighbouring one. She was sure that that castle belonged to someone else’s mindscape and the fact that hers had been bridged to someone else’s was a worrying discovery. Curious to find out more, she stepped onto the bridge and began to walk to the other castle.

Upon entry, Daphne was confronted with a similar study to her own except with large amounts of dust littered everywhere. Daphne could see some of her personal items lying in the room. Daphne began to look around inquisitively. As she used her thumb to wipe some of the dust off of the desk, she yelped in fright as a young boy suddenly fell into the grand chair in front of the mahogany desk, landing with a loud thump. Huge amounts of dust rose into the air before disintegrating, leaving the room in a similar state of cleanliness to her own. She guessed the boy was about her own age, if somewhat malnourished, and he had the same green eyes she had seen in the man in her dreams. If she was honest to herself, Daphne would have confessed that she thought him to be incredibly cute and had an odd desire to hug him which she quickly repressed. 

The boy looked around in shock, until he noticed her standing in front of him. Hadrian and Daphne stared at each other for what seemed like several minutes, each taking in the other. Hadrian remarked in his mind about how pretty the girl standing in front of him was and was overcome by a similar urge to hug her. After the tense silence droned on, both asked.

“Who are you?”

Which was followed by simultaneous replies of “Daphne Greengrass” and “Hadrian Potter.” 

The two stared at each other in further shock. 

“When you say Hadrian Potter, do you mean Hadrian Potter of House Potter?” Daphne enquired. 

“What do you mean House Potter?”

Daphne stared at him in wonderment. “House Potter is a Most Ancient and Noble house and the historic allies of my house, House Greengrass.”

“You mean like the royal houses?” Hadrian asked. 

“No, I mean the magical ones. Didn’t whoever Dumbledore forced you to stay with told you this.”

“Who’s Dumbledore?” Hadrian asked blankly. 

“He’s an evil man plotting to bring my family down.” 

“I’m sorry for you, but I really have no idea who this Dumbledore is?”

Daphne was amazed, her grandfather was really correct – he had been raised by muggles. She changed her line of questioning. “Have you ever been able to do anything which might have appeared impossible at the time? Things when things didn’t go your way? Things when you were angry and scared?”

Hadrian replied “I’ve always been able to do strange things, but I’ve always had control over it.”

Daphne looked at him inquisitively, she had the same sort of dilemma. “Like lifting things with your mind?” She asked. 

“How did you know?” Hadrian asked. 

“I can do magic too. But my grandfather told me that magical beings who haven’t gone through their first majority shouldn’t be able to do magic consciously. And conscious magic without a wand is supposed to be nearly theoretically possible.”

“What can you do? And what’s a wand?” Hadrian asked. 

“I can move things without a wand and I can disappear through walls. I’ve also been able to move through solid objects as though they don’t exist. Most recently I’ve discovered an ability to read minds.” Seeing Hadrians alarmed look she added with a laugh which Hadrian found to be particularly beautiful, “don’t worry, I haven’t read yours. A wand is a device which allows one to focus one’s magic with greater ease, it allows magical humans to perform magic. What magic can you do?” She finished.

“I can also move things, without a wand. I can strike people with lightning bolts. I recently disappeared through a door on a train, though that wasn’t intentional. I’ve also been able able to deflect green bolts of what I assume must be magic at some woman who was chasing me after I fled from the house of my relatives” he sneered the word ‘relatives’ as though it was a particularly painful experience for him.

“You deflected an Avada Kedavra curse.” Daphne looked at him in amazement. “You’re famous for being the only magical human to have ever survived it, but I always hypothesised that that was merely a fluke of nature or some powerful warding, maybe with a sacrificial ritual.” Hadrian nodded along with what Daphne was saying, unsure as to its meaning. Hadrian and Daphne delved further into their discussion about impossible feats of magic. Hadrian found himself spilling his secrets to Daphne in a way he never before expected he would do to anyone. For some reason he felt he could trust her implicitly. He told her of his relatives and the abuse they have done onto him and his eventual murder of them. Far from being repulsed as he had expected she would, Daphne looked at him with sympathy. Hadrian discovered about Daphne’s wish to gain power and restore her house’s name, a task he promised to help her with. She wondered why she was telling him virtually every secret she had, but for some reason she knew he would never betray her trust. 

Daphne realised that Hadrian must have been the man from her dream, the messy black hair and green eyes being almost identical to the man from her dreams – even if he was not as malnourished as Hadrian was.

“Will you be my friend?” The seven year old Daphne asked Hadrian, unaware of the impact that the declaration the two were about to make would bind them together irreversibly. 

“Sure. Always” Hadrian grinned. The two of them reached around the awkwardly large desk to hug each other. As they did this, they were overcome by the breaking of binds which had kept the two separate. 

It was not something Charlus Potter had ever discussed, but the first time that Hadrian and Daphne had met he had become aware that the two had an unusually strong. Hadrian’s magic, normally noticeable only upon closer inspection had gone haywire after meeting her. Daphne’s magic, who his longstanding friend Quentin had told him was similarly inexplicably powerful, had also exploded. The two had been unable to explore their bond further as a result of the murder of both at the hands of Tom Riddle, working with the assistance of Albus Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel. 

A rush of magic flooded the castle they were in. The two watched in amazement as the two castles began to move together, forming one huge structure. Their living quarters seemed to combine into one. The Greengrass library, which Daphne realised contained the entirety of her memories merged with the Potter one. The pair were flooded with each other’s memories as they assimilated almost the entire knowledge of the other. Hadrian and Daphne looked at each other in adoration as they digested the contents of the mind of the other person. 

**Hadrian**   
—   
“Master Hadrian, are you alright?” Hadrian woke up to see that he had collapsed onto the floor as he had been making his way to the Potter library to try and get some answers for the questions he had about the magical world. It had been a most surreal experience as he had suddenly disappeared only to reappear in an exact replica of the Potter castle. 

“Hadrian” He yelped in fright as he heard Daphne’s voice in his mind. 

“I’m fine” he replied to the house elf “did you hear that?” He asked.

“No sirs. Me didn’t hear nothing.” The elf replied. 

“Yes Daphne.” He replied in his mind. 

“I think there’s a secret passage between Potter Castle and Greengrass Castle in our studies. Would you like to come over for the afternoon?”

Harry rushed into his study.

“I’d love to” he replied, as he recalled one of Daphne’s memories of finding a hidden passage to Potter Castle behind the bookshelf. Hadrian reached out with his magic, finding a wall with the Greengrass crest on it, which retracted to reveal a smiling Daphne standing there. Hadrian walked through the door into Greengrass Castle.

 **Daphne**  
—   
Hadrian and Daphne had spent the afternoon reading a series of history books in the Greengrass family library. The two enjoyed the comfort the other provided tremendously and Daphne had an inkling of a suspicion that her favourite chair was designed for two people, rather than one. Hadrian made a convenient resting place for Daphne as the two of them read about the shared history of their two families. The alliance between House Potter and House Greengrass was older than the history book went back, but it was a little-known secret. The two houses were both well known for their reclusive nature as well as the powerful magical they produced. Both houses had legendary military prowess, gained fighting the magical side of the Ancient Roman Empire – legions of animated automatons at their beck and call, alongside a small selection of golems – and had left them in a dominant position after the magical Roman Empire had fallen to greed and internal strife after they had been driven out of Britain. 

The Greengrass and Potter families had been content to remain in the shadows, establishing widespread control over both magical and non-magical Britain through a series of proxy corporations. This had been the key factor in their survival when relations had soured between them and the pureblood families who wished to see the removal of muggleborns from the magical world, a measure to which the Greengrass and Potter family had objected to most strongly. Most of their status had been stripped from them as part of a concerted effort lead by an alliance of most unlikely friends – the ‘light’ factions of the Wizengamot had allied themselves with the ‘dark’ factions. The Greengrass and Potter families had retreated into relative obscurity at the hands of the two factions, secretly lead and prodded on by a French alchemist known as Nicolas Flamel and his wife Perenell. 

—  
The next day, Hadrian had briefly spoken to Daphne’s grandfather who it emerged was his Grandfather’s closest friend. He had explained how he and Charlus had discovered the bond between the two babies and were unsure what to make of it. He had then made several suggestive comments about Harry and Daphne’s shared residences in their mindscape which had left him with two somewhat angry seven year olds glaring at him with a dangerous look in their eyes. He had hastily beat a quick retreat. 

That night Hadrian and Daphne stayed up in the library, comparing the contents of the Potter and Greengrass grimoires. The two of them were somewhat disconcerted by how close they had grown in such a short time. The fact that they had complete knowledge of the life of the other probably helped explain some of it, but there was still an inexplicable almost magnetic attraction between the two.

 **The Scottish Highlands**  
—  
Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch were currently lost in the Scottish highlands. They had not been having a pleasant journey. The weather was miserable and they were surrounded by thick fog. Rain poured down upon the pair as they searched desperately for the Potter residence. Bellatrix growled furiously at Barty as he suddenly stopped. Standing in front of them stood a golem, several meters tall with beady yellow eyes. The golem roared before charging at the pair. Daphne and Hadrian watched on from Potter Manor as their golem charged down the two death eaters. The pair were running as fast as they could away from the hulking beast. Just as it looked like they were about to capture the pair, the two of them reached the end of the apparition ward and disappeared with a loud crack. 

“We should raise the fidelius again.” Daphne told Hadrian. 

“Agreed.” 

In his office, Albus Dumbledore erupted in anger as the marker on his map outlining the location he suspected Potter Castle to be in disappeared. Why was it so difficult to get competent people to do his bidding? He knew the young Hadrian Potter was now a lost cause, no Potter who had been able to modify the wards around Potter Castle had ever betrayed the family legacy. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Daphne’s study**  
—  
Without hesitation, Daphne withdrew the Greengrass ring from its location under her desk. While most families would have stored precious artefacts such as the head of house ring in their Gringotts vault, the Greengrass and Potter families had never gotten along well with the Goblins, who had been the primary creditors of the Roman Empire and deeply embedded into their political system and a lasting mutual dislike had resulted after the Roman Empire had crumbled in the aftermath of their defeat. As a result both families stored their gold in their castle, which made it easier to evade the fines which the Wizengamot had attempted to impose upon them. Daphne slid it on to her finger, noting how snugly it fit her hand. She looked over at Hadrian who had just placed the Potter ring onto his finger – a similarly snug fit resulted. The pair grinned. 

**King’s Cross Station (four years later)**  
—   
Hadrian and Daphne walked, hand-in-hand through Kings Cross train station. The pair looked around them, taking in the bustling (and busy) train station. They could see several other magicals, their inability to pretend to be muggles painfully obvious. Daphne’s hold of Hadrian’s hand tightened as she saw a group of red-headed wizards – the Weasley’s – strutting through the station like they owned it. Dumbledore had recently convinced the Wizengamot to rescind the ban preventing House Weasley from taking its seat on the Wizengamot, imposed almost two centuries ago after the attempted murder and line theft against the then Lady Greengrass, who Daphne had always been inspired by as a young girl. Though he wouldn’t have personally objected, given the way that the Weasley’s had wronged the Potters in the past, Hadrian felt that it was for the best to avoid murdering anyone before they had even arrived at the school. 

“Daph, please calm down. We’ll get them in good time.” Daphne heard her favourite person speaking in her mind. She allowed Hadrian to lead her away from him onto the train. The pair found themselves an empty cabin and sat down inside. For appearance’s sake, the two of them removed their trunks from their robes and enlarged them, placing them in the luggage rack above. Hadrian and Daphne took two seats next to each other, Daphne at the window with Hadrian beside her. The two of them started reading another book together, this one from the Potter library about warding and Ancient Runes. The pair had discovered that between them there was almost no area of magic they could not master. After some reading following their realisation that they began to feel incomplete with physical separation from the other (which was what had lead to them sharing a bed, to the amusement of Daphne’s grandfather) that they probably had a bond between each other’s souls. 

Dumbledore’s binding of Hadrian’s magic to a ward system he had placed around his relatives had unfortunately had the opposite effect to Dumbledore’s intention. The wards used had been taken from the Potter grimoire after James Potter had betrayed what few secrets he could from it to Dumbledore. Unfortunately Dumbledore did not realise that the wards mentioned could only restrain someone of a set magical strength, and if that was exceeded, the wards would collapse. Sensing Hadrian’s need, the soul bond had fused Hadrian’s core with Daphne’s causing the young magicals’ power to increase tremendously. All that was needed to break the wards was an eruption of magical power, which the Dursley’s attempt to murder Hadrian after he had thrown Dudley through a window following Dudley’s desire to commence another round of Hadrian-hunting. Hadrian’s subsequent explosion had caused Dumbledore’s attempts to bind his magic to implode.

Needless to say, Hadrian and Daphne were not fans of the headmaster. It was to the scene of the pair reading a book, Daphne’s head resting comfortably on Hadrian’s shoulder, that Ronald Weasley burst in on. Hadrian observed him cooly, while Daphne gave him an icy look. The young Weasley looked curiously at the pair. 

“I’m Ronald Weasley of the Noble House of Weasley. Who are you?” He injected. Standing behind him were to further Weasley’s. 

“Please don’t kill them Daph, we haven’t even arrived yet.” Daphne could hear Hadrian in her mind. 

“Me, kill anyone? I’m upset you would even suspect me of such a thing.” Hadrian rolled his eyes. 

“It’s none of your concern, Weasel” Daphne began with venom, leaving Ronald Weasley clearly taken aback. 

“Your talking to an ally of the Ancient and Noble House of Dumbledore” the first of Ronald’s twin brothers began. 

“Disrespect towards us might land you in hot water.” The second one continued onwards. Daphne and Hadrian rolled their eyes. They had read about the bond between twins which permitted them to sense some of what the other was thinking. Finishing each others sentences was a less than sensible way to use their talents, given how obvious it made them to others. 

Still expressionless, Daphne replies “I’m sure we’ll be able to cope against the might of the Weasley family, but thank you for your generous concern.”

The Weasley’s looked her in shock, clearly not expecting anyone to resist them. The Weasley family were Dumbledore’s puppets, working to enforce his wishes upon the rest of the school to bolster the headmaster’s power. The fortunes of the Weasley family had picked up recently, after their disastrous attempt to gain control over the Greengrass family’s resources. Hadrian and Daphne resumed reading, causing the famous Weasley blush to arise. Three red-faced Weasley’s stare, outraged, at Daphne and Hadrian. 

“Are you alright, you seem a bit red.” Hadrian asks.

The Weasley’s became more angry at that statement. 

“We’ll be watching you. You better be careful, or we’ll have to take action against you.” The Weasley’s announced pompously before they left. After they had left the cabin, Hadrian and Daphne burst out laughing. 

“If only they knew Lady Greengrass was sitting in their compartment.” Daphne told Hadrian with a grin still on her face.

“Yes, that would have been amusing. I imagine they’ll find out soon enough.”

Unfortunately, the journey deteriorated further after the poor start the Weasley family had set it off to. Soon after the Weasley family, came Daphne’s sister. Astoria Greengrass bore a haughty look as she walked in next to Hadrian’s younger sibling. 

“I’m Astoria and this is John. We’re the heirs to the Potter and Greengrass family and we’d like to know why you questioned the authority of our friends.”

They were met with icy looks, this time not only from Daphne but also Hadrian. The pair briefly looked worried before the smug, supercilious expression regained control over their faces. 

“We’d like you to inform us who you are immediately.” Astoria demands. 

“We’d like you to leave our compartment now.” A frosty Hadrian returns. 

“What your tone. This is the future Lady Greengrass your talking to.”

“Really? I never knew.” Daphne replies. Heir or not, we’d prefer it if you’d leave. 

“Not before you give us a formal apology, or when I assume my lordship of the Potter family, I’ll declare a blood feud against you.”

Daphne and Hadrian turned to look at each other in amazement at the casual way in which John Potter is happy to throw the threat of a blood feud around so casually. 

“Do tell me when you get around to that. I’d be interested to see how it goes.” Hadrian replies easily. 

John Potter glares at him. “Don’t you worry. We’ll show you your place soon enough. Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in the world and he’ll make you realise the errors of your ways.”

Astoria added “I can just see the two of you ending up as dirty snakes in Slytherin. We’ll be watching you, I suspect you might even be dark wizards.”

Daphne lifts her head from Hadrian’s shoulder. 

“We really should have experimented with some of these wards.” 

“If only there was a ward to keep people out based on their intelligence. I would kill for that.” comes Hadrian’s reply.

Neither said anything at that. “I knew it.” Astoria’s voice resounded throughout the compartment. She continues ranting about the harms that Slytherins cause to the magical world and how they’re all in league with ‘you-know-who’. She continued her rant until she realised that the temperature in the compartment had suddenly become freezing. Small crystals of ice had appeared in Daphne and Hadrian’s hair. A layer of condensation had began to form upon the windows. Astoria and John began shivering. 

“What are you doing?” Astoria asks the the duo looking at her and John dispassionately as the ground froze around her. 

“Nothing” Daphne responded, her voice laced with magic. John and Astoria shivered further. “Would you like to leave now?” She asked them, using her magic to compel them to leave without further prompting. They looked in fear behind them, now incredibly weary of the duo. 

“How pathetic, Dumbledore has them completely wrapped round his thumb.” Daphne begins. 

“And their magical strength. It’s minute.” The pair had gained the ability to regard the auras emitted by other’s magic. 

“I suspect we might end up having to kick them out of the families if they’re this far up Dumble’s arse.” 

—  
After John and Astoria had left, the next group to ambush them in their compartment were the extreme pureblood wizards. It was not a pretty picture. Draco Malfoy walked in with a sneer and took a lustful gaze at Daphne, to Hadrian’s intense irritation. Looking up cooly from the book, Daphne merely stared back at Draco – daring him to say something. Draco was shadowed by two trolls (who turned out, upon closer inspection, actually to be part-human and masquerading by the name of Crabbe and Goyle) and Pansy Parkinson who glared at Daphne for daring to attract Draco’s attention. Having had decided that the quartet presented no visible threat, Hadrian and Daphne resumed reading their book. 

“I am Draco Malfoy, heir of House Malfoy.” The pompous beginning of the sentence did not bode well for the rest of the conversation. Hadrian and Daphne continued reading, pretending he hadn’t spoken. Draco was unable to take the hint. “I hear that you are fellow enemies of the House of Weasley. I would like to give you the privilege of calling yourself acquaintances of the House of Malfoy in our common endeavour of ridding the school from the unfortunate influence of House Weasley.” 

“Is everyone in this school so self-absorbed.” Hadrian asks Daphne. 

“It certainly seems so. How long do you reckon it will take this idiot to take the hint.”

“Too long.” 

Pansy decided that her injection is called for. “You should be honoured that Draco is offering you this privilege. What houses do you come from anyway?”

Neither of the pair reply. Pansy sneers. “Come on Draco, they must be worthless mudbloods if they’re too ashamed to mention their family names.” 

Fortunately for all parties involved, the rest of the journey passed in relative peace. Upon their arrival in Hogwarts, Hadrian and Daphne slipped in amongst the other first years. The first years were called by a half-giant by the name of Rubeus Hagrid and instructed to get into a flotilla of small wooden boats. The pair [Hadrian and Daphne] took their seats in a boat with a girl with the most incredibly bushy hair as well as an inability to remain quiet and a boy with a toad which kept threatening to escape. 

The group of first years gasped as the castle came into view. It was a little-known fact, but the Potter family used to run a highly successful construction company which had built most of the castle and provided several of its most important magical artefacts. The legendary reputation the wards around the castle had accrued was as a result of the Potter family’s construction efforts in a time when the Slytherin family had been allies of the Potter’s. 

Some of the gasps of delight turned into expressions of fear as a large tentacle bust from the surface of the water, drenching the majority of the students. Daphne raised a shield around herself and Hadrian, keeping them dry. The other students looked at them with wonderment in their eyes at the fact that they had not been touched by the water. Neither bothered to provide reaction to the stares directed at them, though there was some muttering about “dark wizards.” Hagrid chuckled, seeing the predicament of the first years, and aware that the giant squid was pretty harmless – especially compared to some of the less desirable elements of the lake such as the merpeople and kelpies which some idiot had imported from America a couple of decades back. 

Soon enough the flotilla made its way to the castle and the group of students made their way into the castle, enjoying the warmth of the castle. Soon enough, they were greeted by the sight of several ghosts appearing through the wall. One person screamed, while most were indifferent and a few even tried to shake hands with the ghosts. The ghosts were arguing hotly about whether or not someone called Peeves should be permitted to attend their annual banquet. They were interrupted from this scintillating dialogue by the appearance of a stern-faced teacher who introduced herself as “Professor McGonagal” and ushered them through a set of heavy oak doors. Professor McGonagal walked through a further set of heavy oak doors, leaving the students to themselves. 

“What do you think we have to do for the sorting?” The bushy-haired witch asked. 

“My brothers told me you have to defeat a troll in unarmed, single combat.” Ronald Weasley responded. Daphne looked at Hadrian with a look which conveyed his contempt for the red-haired twat. Hadrian returned the look. Draco Malfoy decided to interject. 

“Only a Weasley would believe that trash. It’s clearly some sort of test to weed out the mudbloods before the sorting.” He drawled in an arrogantly insufferable tone, smirking as Weasley started to go red in the face. 

“Shut your mouth before someone has to close it for you.” Ron returned angrily. 

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do that will scare me.” Malfoy asked. 

“Just you watch what’s coming for you, snake.” Ron returned. 

Fortunately, all out combat was avoided as McGonagal returned. The students quickly fell back into monotonous line at her stern face. 

“In a moment you will be sorted into your Hogwarts house. This house will effectively be your family while you are here. You will spend the majority of your time in your house and often sanctions as well as rewards are given collectively to houses. We expect you to support your house members, and I am sure that no matter why oho sue your are placed into you will make it proud.” She glanced at Weasley and Malfoy at this statement, as though doubting that they would do a good job of making anyone proud. She waited for a few moments before she opened the door into the great hall of Hogwarts. The first years bustled into the hall, suspiciously absent of a troll. The hall was filled with chatter as the students discussed the new first years and their summer holidays. 

Hadrian and Daphne caught their second sighting of Dumbledore. Their first sighting had been after Bellatrix and Barty had been chased away by the golem. Dumbledore had tried to take matters into his own hands and they had seen him blindly wandering through the Scottish Highlands. Unfortunately for him, he was no match for the combined area wards of the Greengrass and Potter Castle’s and after a few weeks had given up and returned to ensuring that John and Astoria sat firmly under his control. It was laughable, really, how easy they manipulated they were. Dumbledore looked at them in shock. He had never expected the pair to actually come to Hogwarts. He had expected them to stay behind the safety of their castle wards and try to manipulate the situation discreetly. He grinned internally as he realised the potential for him to ‘recruit’ them to his cause, possibly using their siblings. 

McGonagal withdrew a sheet of parchment and produced a hat out of thin air. She called out the name of the first year to be sorted, before asking them to sit on the stool and placing the hat on their head. The hat quickly barked “GRYFFINDOR” before McGonagal moved onto the next student. Weasley, Ronald was sorted into Gryffindor, right before Malfoy, Draco was placed into Slytherin. The bushy-haired girl, who turned out to be Granger, Hermione was placed alongside the boy Longbottom, Neville in Ravenclaw. When it came to Daphne’s turn, the student population were particularly surprised. In particular one Astoria Greengrass and John Potter. The Weasley’s snarled, realising that their ancestral opponent was in the castle and the Malfoy’s didn’t exactly look pleased that their biggest creditor, to whom they owned more money than they could ever hope to earn, had returned to the castle. 

“Such talent.” The hat began its spiel, “there’s definitely bravery, intelligence, ambition and cunning in your mind. Oh my. There seems to be someone else in your mind. Ah.” It gasped in excitement, “a bond between souls. I’ve never seen one of those before and I’ve sorted students for almost 2000 years. There’s loyalty, but its exclusively for the one with whom you share your bond. Your bravery extends only to protecting the things you care about. I predict that you’d happily let the rest of the world burn, if it came to that. There’s such a thirst to prove yourself, to never let yourself rely on anyone. But wait, that’s not true; you place absolute faith in Hadrian Potter – despite the fact that you convinced yourself you’d never let something like that happen.”

Daphne listened to the hat’s assessment before asking a few questions. “How can you overcome my occlumency barriers? Are you going to tell Dumbledore about all this?”

“Worry not, for I am sorting hat. I have a series of runes engraved into me which permit me to form an assessment of the personality of a student. I am a creation of the House of Potter and I was bound by my creator only to reveal my secrets to the Lord Potter, who of this moment had complete access to your mind. Based on my assessment, the only suitable house for you is SLYTHERIN.” 

Malfoy and Weasley stared in shock as Daphne handed the hat back to McGonagal before she gracefully made her way towards the Slytherin table. Hadrian soon followed her, taking a seat next to her as Astoria and John were also sorted into Gryffindor. Following the sorting, Dumbledore began his speech. 

“Welcome back to a new year. For our new students, I would like to introduce myself – I am Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. There are a few quick start of term notices to deliver to students before we begin the feast which I am sure you are all eagerly anticipating.” Based on the amount of drool coming from Weasley’s mouth, he was definitely eager to begin the feast. “The first notice I would kite to deliver is that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that: forbidden. Our new students heed this notice. A few of our older students would do well to remember this as well” Dumbledore looked pointedly a the Weasley twins as he sat this. “The second notice I have to deliver is that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to anyone who does not want to die an extremely painful death.” Several students started laughing at this, while most looked incredulously at Dumbledore for that pronouncement. Dumbledore merely continued, a mad twinkle appearing in his eyes. “The third notice I would like to inform you of is that Mr. Filch has increased the size of the list of banned items, which is available on a piece of parchment hung tin his office door. All students would do well to consult it and ensure that they have none of the mentioned items in their possession. Before we begin the feat I have a few words to deliver , and these are ‘Nitwit, Odder, Bludment and Tweak.’ Enjoy.” Dumbledore swept hjs hands magnanimously and the Hogwarts house elves worked to conjure huge patters of food onto the tables. 

The students tucked greedily into the feast. Some had particularly bad table manners, particularly young Ronald Weasley, who attempted to shove the largest amount of food he could down his throat to the disgust of at the other houses. The Gryffindors were oblivious to this, themselves consumed in hungrily consuming the feast as rapidly as they could. On the Slytherin table, Malfoy was assuring everyone who would listen as to his importance and the significant of his family name, to which Pansy Parkinson and the Malfoy lackey group listened eagerly, occasionally interjecting with how important it was to rid the school of muggleborns and blood traitors. Hadrian rolled his eyes at their antics and the two of them tucked into the feast, after checking whether or not it had been poisoned. The two ate in silence, maintaining a dialogue in their minds. 

“This place is even more concerning than I thought it was.” Hadrian begins. 

“I thought there were admissions criteria.” Daphne replied. 

“There were, but Dumbledore relaxed them so as to enable his allies to get in.” Hadrian responded. 

“I reckon we steel the stone and get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Don’t forget the snake in the chamber of secrets.” Daphne added. 

Having watched Weasley gorge himself on high mountains of food, everyone was unsurprisingly happy to go to their common rooms, hopefully a long way away from him. The Slytherin prefect, Marcus Flint, lead the first years down into the dungeons. Behind a portrait of Salazar Slytherin, sat the Slytherin common room. Determined to enforce his control over his house, Marcus Flint began a lecture. 

“Welcome to Slytherin, the best house in the school. The house of Slytherin is universally disliked by other houses. To counteract the disadvantages this puts us at, Slytherins are expected t ostiary together. We settle disputes internally, in the dealing pits if necessary. Outside the house, we must present a united front. We do not allow the other houses to defeat us through divide and conquer. Our house is government by what is known as the Upper Order, an elite group of Slytherins who are in charge of the house. Their word is final and anyone who questions it should expect to be appropriately sanctioned. 

Slytherin provides the best accommodation in the school to its students. Every student is given their own room, unlike other houses in which students are put into dormitories of multiple people. We really don’t care what you get up to in your dorms, so long as you don’t get caught. The first thing toys will learn in Slytherin house is to trust nobody. To help you learn this lesson, the older students will try to break into the dormitories of the younger ones. You should establish some protective warding around your room to stop this. We tend to go easy on you while you’re in your first week, but after that anything is game. I warn you, some of the boys aren’t so nice – particularly to the girls. If you even think of tilling a professor about this it won’t end well for you – you’ll be outcast in the house and forced to partake in an honour duel.

As a house, we drive to get the best academic qualifications. The only house who challenge us in this regard are Ravenclaw and we expect you to ensure that you eat them. We want the top five students in every year to come from Slytherin. To this effect, the older students are happy to tutor the younger students in the evenings. There are dedicated sessions, a timetable for which will go up on the notice board in the common room. We advise that when travelling around outside the house you ensure that you travel in groups to avoid the chance of being ambushed by members of the other houses. For the first week, prefects will show you to your lessons.”

Flint then lead the first years up to their dorms. A corridor had been allocated to the first years. Boys dorms had been placed on the right and girls dorms on the left. Hadrian and Daphne stepped first into the room with Hadrian’s name inscribed upon it.

“An interesting choice of decor” Hadrian remarked upon noticing the barely furnished room, equipped only with a bed and a small plywood wardrobe. 

“They clearly want us to redecorate them” a wave of Daphne’s hand had the room expanding. A king-sized bed replaced the small wooden construction that had sat there previously. The wardrobe grew several times, to encompass the now expanded wall. Hadrian waved his hands as well, watching a bathroom establish itself in the room. A bath, big enough for two and a bit people to comfortably sit in as well as a shower set themselves up in the corner. 

“Suggesting something, my dear Harry” Daphne asked with a grin. She knew for certain if anyone else had called Hadrian Harry they would have been incinerated with a lighting bolt, but Hadrian had no objection to her nickname for him. 

“Not at all, my lady” Hadrian replies teasingly.

The pair establish a set of wards around the room, strong enough to keep even Nicolas Flamel out for a few weeks. Once the enhancements to Hadrian’s room had been finished they moved onto Daphne’s room, which they enhanced in similar fashion. Both rooms hidden under the fidelius – a charm invented by the Greengrass family – no-one noticed that Daphne had decided to bunk in Hadrian’s bed with him.


End file.
